Category: Planned Giving

Great nonprofit leaders understand that true impact isn’t just about meeting today’s needs—it’s about securing the future. While annual campaigns and major gifts are essential for keeping the lights on, organizations that thrive for generations don’t just focus on immediate fundraising. They invest in tomorrow by implementing, reviving, and doubling down on their planned giving programs. Legacy gifts create a foundation of long-term financial stability, ensuring that missions continue well beyond the present moment.

We send out direct mail a few times a year.  Our donor base responded well to direct mail. They enjoyed writing checks!  On every direct mail form, there was a checkbox for them to let us know that we were in their estate plans.

Work smarter, not harder, and develop a model to guide you through the process of finding the likely planned giving donors (or prospects). Using that model you expend resources and time more effectively to find those donors who can make an impact on your organization through a planned gift.

Planned giving is more than a financial strategy—it’s a cornerstone of long-term sustainability for nonprofits. Over $84 trillion is expected to transfer between generations by 2045, with $12 trillion earmarked for charitable causes. Yet, only 5.3% of U.S. households currently include a charitable gift in their estate plan, leaving an enormous opportunity for nonprofits to secure transformational gifts that can support their mission for decades.

The Kansas City Chiefs are going for their third straight Super Bowl title this weekend. Many bemoan their success! While they may not like the Chiefs, there is one undeniable thing about them: their success.

Planned Giving is a fundraising method that offers a higher return on investment than other types of fundraising. This is typically because planned gifts (such as bequests or beneficiary designations) are often large, but cost relatively little to secure. You can start as simple as a page about planned giving on your website and start promoting this impactful way to give.

For retirees with a healthy nest egg in tax-deferred accounts, hitting age 73 comes with a new milestone: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). While it’s a sign of financial success, those RMDs can come with a not-so-fun side effect—higher taxes! The bigger your account balance, the larger your RMD, which could nudge you into a higher tax bracket.

Some donors, especially those required to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), begin planning their financial and tax strategies at the start of the year. Punctual CPAs send their clients information about their RMDs for the calendar year in January or February. By communicating early, nonprofits position themselves as part of these plans before funds are allocated elsewhere.

Over my 25 years in philanthropy, a career which I am proud of and thankful for, I have worked with organizations where I was a development staff of one to a large healthcare system where we had fundraisers throughout the United States.

The donors that give to you automatically every month show how much they trust you with every transaction. Your shared mission is so important to them that they give you their credit card number and allow you to charge money every month on it. That level of trust cannot be underestimated.